One of the big questions that every slot player is hoping to find an answer to is this one: “Is there life after death?”
No, wait. sorry. It was this one: “How do you know when a slot is going to pay out?”.
How do you know if a slot machine is hot or cold? And how do you know if you are going to win money or if you are going to lose money?
Before we answer these fundamental questions, we must delve into the mechanics of a slot machine.
How do slots actually work?
What does the return to player of a slot mean?
The slot return to player percentage is an essential part of how slots work. The player’s return to player shows you how much of the money put into the machine goes back to the player.
The average online slot has a return to player of around 95-96%. In other words, out of every dollar that is staked, the casino keeps 4-5% – the rest is returned to the player. Keep in mind, these are averages calculated over long periods.
The higher the return to player percentage, the better it is for the player. Alright. We have established that a slot pays out less than goes in. Not exactly rocket science. But how does the slot determine when it has to pay a winning combination? And how high should this payout exactly be?
To find out how we come to the second part: the possible combinations.
The possible combinations of a slot machine
The slot machine decides what to pay out and when based on two variables: the possible combinations and the Random Number Generator (RNG).
Every slot has thousands, if not millions of possible outcomes. These outcomes represent a certain payout. The payout could be zero (you lose), could be 2x your stake (a small win) or could be 10.000x your stake (a jackpot) and everything in between.
Most of the spins, you will not win everything, sometimes you will win a small amount (2-5 times your stake), and once in a while, you will win a big prize. It may take you five years to win the highest jackpot payout.
If we divide all the possible payouts by the number of combinations, we have calculated the Return to Player percentage. Isn’t that cool?
Here is a simplified representation of how a Return to Player percentage is calculated:
| Number of credits won | Number of combinations |
| 0 | 300.000 |
| 1-5 | 400.000 |
| 6-10 | 100.000 |
| 11-50 | 50.000 |
| 51-100 | 20.000 |
| 101-500 | 5.000 |
| 501-1.000 | 2.000 |
| 1.001 – 5.000 | 1.000 |
| 5.001 – 10.000 | 500 |
| 10.001 – 50.000 | 5 |
| 100.000 | 1 |
| Total | 878.526 combinations |
In this example, there are 878,526 possible outcomes (or spins). In 34.1% of the spins, there will be no winning combination (300,000/878,526).
In 45.5% of the spins, there will be a payout between 1 to 5 credits (400,000/878,526), etcetera. The jackpot of 100,000 credits will only occur once in every 878,525 spins (on average).
Based on the outcome, the slot shows a visual representation on the screen. For instance, one spin could win you 5x your stake with five lemons on a pay line. The outcome of that particular spin is a win of 5x your stake; the visual representation is the five lemons on a pay line. So, the outcome determines what is shown on the screen, not the other way around!
And now we get to the really good part. How does the slot determine which outcome will be won by the player? That is when the Random Number Generator (RNG) comes into place. The RNG is the heart of every slot.
The Random Number Generator (RNG): the heart of a slot machine
The Random Number Generator determines which combination is picked. The RNG is continuously spinning all the possible outcomes around, kind of like a giant tombola.
The moment you push the spin button, the RNG stops at a random number. This number is paired with the outcome of the spin.
So, effectively, you are stopping the RNG yourself, without knowing which number will stop. This guarantees randomness and fairness – you cannot affect the outcome of the RNG.
So, how do you know when a slot is going to pay out?
Sadly, you can’t. The RNG is random, has no memory and cannot be influenced.
The RNG has no idea whether you are winning or losing or rich or poor. It does not know what your current casino balance is, and it does not know if a big payment is “due.”
But wait a minute!
If the RNG is random, how come some days we can’t seem to lose, and other days we can’t seem to win anything?
Because the RNG is random and cannot base future outcomes on past results, sometimes you will have many winning spins (this is what we call being lucky, or a “hot” slot). Other times, you might have a larger amount of losing spins (the slot is “cold”).
Over the long term, it all evens out.
So, by all means, enjoy your wins. Know that every spin is new and random. Do not go chasing losses en never think a slot machine is due for a big jackpot. It just doesn’t work that way.
If you want to increase your odds of winning, play slots with the highest possible RTP.
In our experience, Netent online slots often have RTP’s of around 96.5 -97% or higher.
Your chances of winning on a Netent slot are significantly higher than at a brick and mortar casino, where RTP’s are often lower than 92%!
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